List of scientific errors
. An example of a inaccuracy in the Walking with series]]Despite ''Walking with... ''being a documentary series, several paleontological inaccuracies appear throughout some of the shows. A lot of them are caused by new discoveries. Here's a list of them. Walking with Dinosaurs Pilot *Eustreptospondylus'' was somewhat too lizard-like and resembled old reconstructions of dinosaurs. *''Eusterptospondylus'' was not particularly fast among theropods. *''Cetiosaurus'' had many errors, far too long neck, misshaped head, etc. ''Walking with Dinosaurs: Inside Their World *Most ceratopsians had quills protruding from their backs, and evidence was found on ''Psittacosaurus and ''Triceratops.'' *''Microraptor'' and Archaeopteryx are now known to have been black in color, thanks to fossilized melanosomes. *The dinosaurs featured in this app have pronated hands, something that isn't scientifically true. ''Walking with Dinosaurs New Blood *Coelophysis'' probably didn't feed on live and healthy Placerias. *''Coelophysis'' had sexual dimorphism, unlike the ones in the show, which were all the same. *There is no conclusive evidence that Coelophysis was cannibalistic. This was based on a fossil of Coelophysis with jumbled up bones in its stomach cavity, but these turned out to be species of small crocodiles, rather than the juveniles they were long mistaken to be. *''Placerias'' were probably not hippo-like. *Archosaurs generally don't mark territory's with urine, unlike the male Postosuchus ''in the show. *Thrinaxodon'' was from the early Triassic, not the late. Note that there is some non-mammalian cynodont material, similar to Thrinaxodon from the petrified woods, which could belong to it. *''Plateosaurus'' couldn't move in a quadruple stance. * Coelophysis didn't live at the same time as Placerias ''but coexisted with ''Postosuchus ''for at least 2 million years. But they were all from the Ghost Ranch Formation. * ''Coelophysis ''didn't live 220,000,000 BCE. It evolved at least 203,000,000 BCE and lived to at least into the Early Jurassic approximately 196,000,000 BCE or possibly even later. Time of the Titans * ''Ornitholestes didn't have a nasal crest. *''Ornitholestes'' almost certainly had feathers, which did appear in the companion book. *''Diplodocus'' held it's neck in a slightly higher position then shown in the series. *There is no evidence for such an egg laying structure in Diplodocus. *''Anurognathus'' were micro bat-like insectivores, and did not behave like modern Oxpeckers. It's anatomy is also very inconsistent with the real animal, with a typically elongated neck, deep skull and small wings * Anurognathus ''wasn't found in North America, only in Europe. (Although there are other types of pterosaurs from the Morrison Formation, such as ''Mesadactylus ''and ''Kepodactylus) This error was fixed in The Complete Guide To Prehistoric Life book. * Allosaurus ''was mentioned to be the top predator of its age. The top predator would have actually been the larger ''Saurophaganax. * The head design of Allosaurus is inaccurate. Corrected (somewhat) in the Ballad of Big Al. * Brachiosaurus may have had spines on its neck. * Stegosaurus may have had sexual dimorphism, but in the show, all the stegosaurus are modeled the same. ''Cruel Sea *Liopleurodon'' wasn't even half the size shown in the show. It wasn't 25m long and 150t, but more like 6–10m and 5-8t, the size of an orca. There was evidence of pliosaur bite marks that indicate an animal 25 m long, but it's unlikely that the attacker was a Liopleurodon. *There is no evidence that Ophthalmosaurus migrated towards coasts to give birth. *''Cryptoclidus'' couldn't go on land. *A study of a few ichthyosaurs, Tylosaurus, and an extinct sea turtle, indicate they were mostly black in colour. This doesn't mean that they where completely black, or that other non-detected colours weren't there. It also doesn't directly involve Opthalmosaurus. *''Rhamphorhynchus'' lacks many skeletal features required for a skim feeder. *The shape of the lower jaw is slightly off (Rhamphorhynchus). *''Rhamphorhynchus'' had longer wings. * Some of the animals seen in the episode didn't live in the late Jurassic, instead they lived in the middle Jurassic such as Cryptoclidus ''and ''Eustreptospondylus. O''thers like ''Liopleurodon, Hybodus, and Ophthalmosaurus ''lived in both the middle and late Jurassic, while ''Rhamphorhyncus ''lived near the end of the Jurassic. * Some of the animals didn't coexist with each other. See the error before this one to understand. * ''Eustreptospondylus ''lived in 162,000,000 BCE, not 149,000,000 BCE. * Sea turtles hadn't evolved yet. They evolved in the Early Cretaceous. Giant of the Skies *The giant pterosaur is actually ''Tropeognathus, not Ornithocheirus. *''Tropeognathus'' had a wingspan of only 7-8.2 m (23–27 ft) max. So it was not as large as depicted in the show. *There is no evidence that Tropeognathus traveled the globe. *Tapejarids might have been herbivores/frugivores. *Tapejarids are depicted with ornithocheirid-like limb proportions, with massive forelimbs and short hindlimbs, offering them a cumbersome terrestrial gait. In reality, these pterosaurs, like most azhdarchoids, had longer hind limbs and shorter wings (albeit still obviously much larger than the hindlimbs), allowing them to be effective terrestrial foragers. *The Tapejara shown was actually be a species of Tupandactylus. *Sexual dimorphism isn't documented in Tapajarids. *Tapejarids lived inland, not on the coast. *The walking pose of the all the pterosaurs are far off. *The N. American “''Iguanodon''” is now known as Dakotadon. *''Iguanodon's thumb claw wasn't that big. *Iberomesornis'' has modern bird traits not found in Enantiornithes, like scaly feet (instead of owl-like feathered feet or even Microraptor-like hindwings) and retrices (Meaning it should have these features). *''Utahraptor'' wasn't found in Europe. *''Utahraptor'' did have feathers running head to toe to tail; only the tip of the snout was visible. It even had wings. Additionally, it was impossible for the hands to be pronated without being broken. They held them at the side. The same errors are for Velociraptor (see below). *There is no good evidence that dromaeosaurids where pack hunters. *A paper is being written that will cause many more errors for the WWD dromaeosaurid. *''Polacanthus'' isn't known from N. America, only Europe.(A better canidate for this animal would be Gastonia, since Gastonia lived 127,000,000 BCE in North America). * Since Tropeognathus ''was not a globe traveler, ''Tupandactylus ''lived inland, ''Iguanodon ''and ''Polacanthus ''lived in Europe and ''Utahraptor ''lived in North America, the plot of the episode would have been impossible to happen in reality since Pangea is gone at this time. Spirits of the Ice Forest *Leaellynasaura'' should have a tail three times it's body length. *There is no evidence that Leaellynasaura could go into a form of hibernation. *''Muttaburrasaurus'' was less hadrosaur like then shown in the show, it was a rhabdodontid. *There is no evidence Muttaburrasaurus where migratory. *It's unlikely that Australovenator was an allosaurid, new studies show it was a tyrannosauroid is likely. *''Leaellynasaura might of had feathers to keep it warm. Death of a Dynasty *Dromaeosaurus'' has the same mistakes as Velociraptor and Utahraptor as well as 2 additional ones. The head is too blocky and stout and they died out 72,000,000 BCE, not 65,500,000 BCE ). (Although there was a different dromeosaurid, Acheroraptor, which lived in Hell Creek.). *''Torosaurus'' and Triceratops may have been omnivores but this is debatable. *''Torosaurus'' might not have lived in herds. *Tyrannosaurus rex: ** Many aspects of T. rex mating behavior in the show were speculation. **In WWD, the T. rex ''is depicted as a solitary creature. However, Phil Currie has found some evidence supporting that tyrannosaurids hunted in packs. **Tyrannosaurs are depicted featherless. In reality, they probably had feathers. **''T. rex's hands should be facing inwards, not downwards. The rear teeth, legs, and tail also seem a little shorter. T. rex ''is depicted as being 5 tonnes, but specimens 8-10 tonnes are not uncommon. But ''The Complete Guide To Prehistoric Life seems to have corrected these mistakes. **''T. rex'' is now known to have extremely powerful muscles in its neck and jaws; combined with its teeth that made its bite deadly. **Evidence that female T. rexes were bigger than males isn't solid anymore. **The head of Tyrannosaurus is just very slightly too blocky. *"Anatotitan" is now known as Edmontosaurus annectens. *It also lacks a fleshy crest akin to that of a rooster on its head. However, this is a relatively new discovery. Though this is only known from E. regalis at the moment, may have been a sexaully dimporphic feuture, and has been disputed. * E. annectens ''and ''hadrosaurs ''in general didn't have thumb spikes like their ''Iguanodon cousins. *''Deinosuchus'' was extinct by this time. *We now know that the eyes of smaller ornithopods are pronounced in a way that makes them look angry. This feature is also seen in eagles. *There are multiple inaccuracies for Quetzalcoatlus: The head is bigger and has a large flat crest instead of a tiny notch at the back of the head. The neck is much, much, longer than the program's design. The final result ends up looking more like another pterosaur, Ludodactylus. * The Triceratops ''carcass should have had quills protruding down its back. However, this was not known at the time of filming. * ''Triceratops ''and ''Torosaurus ''could have been the same animal at different growth stages. * ''Didelphodon ''was not badger-like in reality. In reality it had a head like a Tasmanian Devil and a body like an otter. * ''Ankylosaurus ''was not as tall as appeared in the series, in reality it was about as tall as 4.6 to 5.6 feet * ''Ankylosaurus ''was not as bulky in reality, unlike in the show. Walking with Beasts New Dawn *Gastornis may have been herbivorous, but this was debated at the time. *''Eurotamandua is depicted as an actual tamandua, when it was a rather bizarre mammal of possible afrothere affinities. ''Whale Killer * ''Andrewsarchus is depicted as a mesonychid, when it was a more entelodont-like artiodactyl. However this is a very common and big mistake as most drawings/paintings of Andrewsarchus depict it as a mesonychid. Only a few correct drawings exist. * Moeritherium and Apidium did not live near the ocean neither did the swamps they lived in. ''Land of Giants *Hyaenodon'' is said to have bone crushing jaws. In real life, they were for shearing rather than crushing. *''Hyaenodon'' had a slightly longer muzzle than is shown in the series. ''Next of Kin *It is unlikely ''Australopithecus afarensis could scare off large chalicotheres. ''Sabre-Tooth * ''Phorusrhacos probably did not have wing claws. *''Phorusrhacos'' was probably stockier than is shown in the series. * Phorusrhacos lived in the Miocene (20,000,000-13,000,000 BCE), Not the Pleistocene of 1,000,000 BCE. * All Phorusrhacidae (Terror Birds), went extinct 2,500,000 BCE, therefore all scenes with the Terror birds wouldn't have been possible. * There is no evidence that Megatherium ate carrion to supplement its diet. ''Mammoth Journey *Male Woolly Mammoth skulls did not have tusks that curve over another. Only Columbian Mammoths are known to have this feature. *The Neanderthal was not the last survivor of the genus ''Homo, besides humans: the highly debated[[Homo floresiensis|'' Homo'' floresiensis]] was. ''Walking with Cavemen *Some paleanthropologists believe the African ''Homo heidelbergensis is merely an archaic form of modern humans. *Some paleanthropologists do not recognize Homo ergaster and Homo erectus as separate species. Even if they were separate, some believe H. erectus did survive and evolved into the highly controversial H. floresiensis. ''Walking with Monsters Water Dwellers *There is no evidence for ''Cephalaspis ''swimming into fresh water to lay eggs. *Brontoscorpio'' lived at a different time then Cephalaspis, one in the Silurian, the other in the Devonian. *''Cephalaspis was not ancestral to tetrapods Reptile's Beginnings *In the series, ''Petrolacosaurus is incorrectly identified as an ancestral synapsid, when in fact, it was an early diapsid and could therefore not have been the ancestor of any synapsids (e.g. Edaphosaurus). Futhermore, it is stated that the Dimetrodon was a reptile, when in fact, it was a synaspid (one could call them reptilomorphs). Futhermore, the most basal synapsid, Archaeothyris, would have been a more suitable candidate. *The Dimetrodon ''hatchlings are shown with their back sails fully erect, when they probably wouldn't have grown yet. *The skin texture of ''Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon are slightly off. They had scutes on their skin, like crocodilians. ''Clash of Titans *Gorgonops'' and the Rhinesuchus are only known from South Africa, yet in Clash of Titans, they are portrayed living with Scutosaurus ''and a Siberian species of ''Diictodon, which were only found in Siberia. But the gorgonopsid ''was more likely an ''Inostrancevia since it lived at the same time and place as Scutosaurus ''and the Siberian species of ''Diictodon. *''Euparkeria'' is not an ancestor of the dinosaurs, being basal to crocodile-dinosaur split. *''Gorgonops'' and other gorgonopsids might have had fur. ''Chased by Dinosaurs *Velociraptor'' may not have lived in heavily forested areas. All of the sites where Velociraptor fossils were found suggest that the animal lived in sandy, arid environments with many sand dunes (with one specimen apparently being smothered to death by a sand dune). *''Velociraptor lacks feathers. All Dromaeosaurids/Raptors had pennaceous feathers running from head to to to tail. It even had wings. *Giganotosaurus'' was depicted on the show as the largest carnivorous dinosaur, though current size estimates favor Spinosaurus. *''Argentinosaurus'' is said to have been the biggest dinosaur. That record may actually belong to poorly known forms such as Amphicoelias fragilimus, Puertasaurus reuli or Bruhathkayosaurus matleyi '' *Velociraptor's '' claw could not disembowel prey because the underside was round therefore the claw was used for stabbing. *''Tarbosaurus's'' arms should be facing inwards not downwards and Tarbosaurus probably had feathers. * Saurolophus ''and hadrosaurs in general didn't have thumb spikes like their ''Iguanodon cousins. * ''Therizinosaurus'''' was depicted featherless. It is almost certain that therizinosaurs had feathers. * [[Pteranodon|''Pteranodon]] didn't live in South America. It was endemic only to North America. * Pteranodon ''lived 86,000,000-84,500,000 BCE (possibly as late as 80,500,000 BCE), not 100,000,000 BCE (Ludodactylus would have been a closer choice but it was discovered at the time the show aired and it lived 12 million years before the episode takes place and lived in Brazil). * [[Tropeognathus|''Tropeognathus]]'' (called here [[Ornithocheirus|''Ornithocheirus]] ) was found in Brazil, not Argentina. * Pteranodon ''should have had fuzz on its body. Sea Monsters ''Intro *Same issues with Velociraptor ''as seen above. *''Velociraptor ''was unlikely to live that close to the sea, same with ''Tarbosaurus. *Same inaccuracies with the Tarbosaurus as in Chased by Dinosaurs ''. ''Ordovician *Some "''Sea scorpions''" could go on land only for short intervals, and eat washed up carcasses. *Mild time map issues, see below. ''Devonian'' *There's no evidence Dunkleosteus was a cannibal, but being the top predator it's likely Dunkleosteus ''was a cannibal. ''Triassic *''Tanystropheus'' was an archosauromorph, they can't shed tails in defence. *''Tanystropheus's ecological niche is unresolved. ''Jurassic *''Leedsicthys' size is grossly exaggerated. In reality, it was 8–17 m and 25 tons rather than the 27 m and 100 tons in the show. ''Cretaceous *''Pteranodon'' should have had fuzz like other Pterosaurs. *Tyrannosaurus did not live 75,000,000 BCE. * Mosasaurs ''like ''Tylosaurus ''and ''Halisaurus ''had tail flukes. Plus ''Tylosaurus ''was 15 m and 7 tons, not 17 m and 20 tons. ''Eocene * Arsinoitherium did not have a trunk. * Basilosaurus' '''ability to "sing" is highly inaccurate. It and other early whales lacked the melon organ that modern whales have that is used for this action. ''Pliocene *''Megalodon'' was depicted a little bit too similar to modern day great whites. Though scientists suggest that Megalodon did look like a stockier version of the great white. *There's no evidence juvenile Megalodon would have lived in the shallows. ''Time map'' *Creatures have the same issues as described in their respective sections (See above). *Time periods of planet earth go much farther back then the Ordovician, but this was probably an artistic choice, as Nigel didn't go any farther back then this. *''Basilosaurus'' should be a bit farther back. *The Cenozoic section should be a bit bigger. ''Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie *Gorgosaurus'' had feathers * Pachyrhinosaurus had quills like Psittacosaurus and Triceratops *''Edmontosaurus had a crest *Troodon had more feathers *Quetzalcoatlus had a bigger head and longer neck *Alexornis ''had some errors